Active and Passive Use of Green Space, Health, and Well-Being amongst University Students

Abstract

Frequent exposure to green space has been linked to positive health and well-being in varying populations. Yet, there is still limited research exploring the restorative benefits associated with differing types of green space use among students living in the university setting. To address this gap, we explored green space use amongst a population of undergraduate students (n = 207) attending a university with abundant opportunities to access the restorative properties of nature. The purpose of this study was to examine the type and frequency of green space interactions that are most strongly associated with indicators of health and well-being, and investigate student characteristics associated with frequent use of green space. Results revealed that students who frequently engage with green spaces in active ways report higher quality of life, better overall mood, and lower perceived stress. Passive green space interactions were not strongly associated with indicators of health and well-being. Having had daily interactions with green space in childhood was associated with frequent green space use as a university student, and identified barriers to green space use included “not enough time,” and “not aware of opportunities” These results could assist in the tailoring of “green exercise” interventions conducted in the university setting.

Can Simulated Nature Support Mental Health? Comparing Short, Single-Doses of 360-Degree Nature Videos in Virtual Reality With the Outdoors

“…We cannot assume similar effects would be seen in older populations, non-healthy (i.e., clinical) populations, or individuals without ready access to outdoor nature, including people with physical limitations. Because most experimental research involving responses to natural environments (Holt et al, 2019;Mygind et al, 2019) and VR (Oh et al, 2016) use college student populations, our findings still build on the existing body of literature on the therapeutic potential of 360-degree nature videos in VR.…”

Impact of Frequency of Visits and Time Spent in Urban Green Space on Subjective Well-Being

“…We found that user groups (i.e., Hgroup and Mgroup) were more motivated by "to exercise and hike" than the LNgroup. Considering that health has been recognized as one of the most important life domains [115,116] and that the study area is a densely urbanized environment with a lack of space for exercising, the higher SWB of user groups than the LNgroup can be explained by the satisfaction of the health motivation of visitors to UGS. Compared to user groups, respondents in the LNgroup reported higher motivations "to rest," "to be away from home," and "to spend time with family members."…”

“…However, it is noteworthy that some studies have reported that the amount of time spent is as important for SWB as frequency of visit (e.g., [115,[138][139][140][141]). For example, university students who reported longer amounts of time spent in green spaces showed high levels of life satisfaction and low levels of stress (e.g., [115,139]).…”

“…However, it is noteworthy that some studies have reported that the amount of time spent is as important for SWB as frequency of visit (e.g., [115,[138][139][140][141]). For example, university students who reported longer amounts of time spent in green spaces showed high levels of life satisfaction and low levels of stress (e.g., [115,139]). Korpela et al [138] also reported that longer amounts of time spent in nature-based recreation are associated with restorative experiences and perceived emotional well-being, despite being reluctant to conclude that the time spent in urban forests is not associated with SWB.…”

“…An easier way of minimizing the constraints on visiting UGS may be to focus on the physical aspects of constraints reported by the LNgroup in the study, such as the distribution of UGS, accessibility to forests, and poor facilities. Previous studies have also reported the importance of the physical aspects of urban forests to promote visitation of forests, such as good accessibility, maintained natural areas, and well-designed marked paths (e.g., [115,142]). In similar contexts, recent studies have emphasized the importance of urban forest types [118,119], quality of forests [120], context [47,143], and maintenance of facilities [32,123,124].…”